If you encounter a group of children in a remote mountain village, it is likely they will shyly stare at you with bright, simple and curious eyes. If you try to approach them, even in a friendly manner, they will fly away upon your first question.

That scenario had always been my belief - until my recent trip to Huaiji County in South China's Guangdong Province totally changed that assumption.

"Hello, dear brother. Welcome to our school," said a small girl with a sweet smile, as she offered her right hand to me. All the other girls and boys at the Qiaotou Middle School introduced themselves in the same graceful manner.

Among them, a girl named Li Jiahua impressed me deeply as she said: "You may call me by my English name 'Amy' if you want to."

Only a few months ago, this scene would have been unimaginable for Li and her pals. Despite a lack of English teachers and educational materials, the students were in awe of English. To pronounce simple words in an English textbook, they wrote Chinese characters next to the words to direct their efforts, sometimes creating strange effects. But the arrival of some 30 volunteers from the "Lighthouse" Project drastically changed this situation.

"The children were afraid of meeting strangers," said Huang Jianwei, a student at South China Polytechnic University in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong.

Wearing a white T-shirt, Huang had a name plate on his chest bearing the words, "Huang Jianwei, volunteer at the "Lighthouse Project." The project is a Chinese non-governmental organization that focuses on education projects in poor remote regions.

'Light House' project

Early this March, more than 20 people gathered in an office in Guangzhou. Most were students at various universities in Guangdong and a few worked for local companies. But all of them had been active participants in an online discussion about the backward educational system in the country's poor regions.

"China has set up many new school buildings in the countryside, but a lot of them lack qualified teachers," said Chen Jianhua, 32, one of the initiators of the discussion. "Few people are concerned about the real well-being of the children in those areas," Chen said.

In April, the ambitious young people again gathered to put their ideals into action in the form of the "Lighthouse" project. Its primary aim is to recruit and train capable and caring volunteers who will devote their spare time to teaching children in remote villages.

"We will try to enlarge the vision of the children, improve the way they think and help them master the direction of their lives," said Chen. "The influence of a good volunteer on children can match the importance of a new school building in a village."

So far, the "Lighthouse" project has attracted some 50 volunteers, most of whom are college students who can devote their summer and winter holidays to the project. To make the project more effective, volunteers can choose their own work times and desired transportation to go to the remote regions, explained Yin Sijie, another founder of the project.

Each applicant must go through a strict selection process before becoming a volunteer. Besides having a sound basic education, the volunteers must be psychologically balanced, as they will serve as a role model for the children.

Chen Jianhua said he had long aspired to be a volunteer. While studying at a university in Guangzhou, he had toured many places in Southwest and Northwest China during his holidays.

Chen will never forget the day he reached the Tianshan Mountains in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region a few years ago. A small boy chatted happily with him about the airplane that has brought Chen to the area. Flapping his arms, the boy asked: "Does a plane fly like an eagle?"

This and many other scenes deeply touched Chen, who said that the "Lighthouse" is similar to other volunteer projects in that they all seek to create a society in which people help and love each other.

"We are now focusing this help and love towards the children in remote regions," Chen explained.

Introducing the world

On July 17, the first 31 "Lighthouse" volunteers arrived in Huaiji County after a long trip from Guangzhou. Staging their first large-scale activity, the volunteers spent one month of their summer holidays teaching the children in the Qiaotou and neighbouring Yonggu middle schools.

Huaiji County is located in the northwestern corner of Guangdong Province bordering the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Over 95 per cent of the teachers in this county's primary and middle schools are not high-school graduates, and over 60 per cent of the students have never ventured beyond nearby townships.

Many poor families can't afford to send their children to middle school. The most common wish of parents is for their offspring to become good farm hands. Few children ever think about the need to study or what they want to do in the future.

"Confusion and inferiority are the basic psychological characteristics of the children here," said Ren Guiling, a teacher at Yonggu Middle School. "But the situation is changing, and the changes are brought about by these young people," he said, referring to Huang Jianwei and his colleagues.

Before the volunteers started teaching, fear of English was common among the students. Thus the volunteers began by correcting their pronunciation and encouraging the shy students to chant, sing and even shout in English. For the slightest improvement, they would give the students plenty of encouragement.

At the end of a month, many students could easily introduce themselves in English. A few outstanding students even staged a short English drama for their teachers and parents.

Besides English, the volunteers also tried to bring the outside world into the remote region. They talked about Bill Gates, the Internet, various lifestyles of urban and rural people, and daily global events.

The teaching project reached its climax on July 28, when the volunteers played the role of headhunters from large companies recruiting students for various jobs - from the waiters and waitresses at McDonald's to the sales managers of General Motors, and art directors of the Beijing Film Production Company - unfamiliar to the students and their teachers.

"Every desk had a long queue of students, whose faces were red with excitement," recalled Ren Guiling.

Among the more than 20 courses the volunteers offered, the children loved psychology the most. Before this, they had no one to share their growing pains with and guide them through the turbulence of youth.

Once, volunteer Yu Yiqun encouraged the students to paint a picture of their names. A girl named Ah Ying handed in a picture with a withering tree, whose leaves were flowing down a river. She said: "A tree planted in spring becomes lonely in autumn. Its leaves fall and flow away, while other trees are brilliant across the bank."

Yu found that the girl came from a poor family and her school attendance could end at any moment. She wrote a letter to the girl, saying: "The arrival of autumn announces the harvest season. You are not alone. You'll have me and other elder brothers and sisters' help."

Later, the "Lighthouse" donated money to help the students finish another year of their education.

Plans and problems

Through the month of activity, the students became more lively, daring and expressive.

"In the past, most people only saw the material poverty of the villages," said Ren Guiling. "Finally, people are caring about the informational and spiritual poverty of our children."

But not everyone sang the praises of the volunteers.

Some teachers at the Huaiji schools doubted how long the "Lighthouse" project would last. Once the students get in touch with the more interesting outside world, the teachers worry that they won't focus on the more traditional educational goals that focus on earning high grades and enrolling in university.

The project's founders also find themselves under pressure. Few people fully understand their purpose and some have even accused them of seeking economic profit.

But in reality, each volunteer is spending his or her own money to participate in the project. With the increase of volunteers and extended activities, Chen Jianhua doubts the project can survive, due to a shortage of funds.

Nevertheless, Chen and other members of the project are planning to recruit volunteers with more life experience. Another ambitious plan is to invite the teachers and some students from the remote regions to Guangzhou to study and live temporarily.

(China Daily December 5, 2001)